This is not a revolution.
The revolution happened while nobody was paying attention. They organized. They planned. They established the rules that would control the game. They taught each other that the rules they couldn’t change didn’t matter. That’s why so many people are looking around and wondering why things are so bad, how Walker et. al. can think they’ll get away with it. The revolution happened already, and we’re just seeing the end game, the final consolidation of power. That’s why the only way to slow them down was to break the system. That’s why allegedly unique states have similar legislation creeping up. They beat us to the revolution, and they almost won.
This is not a revolution. It’s a counter-revolution.
A revolution is a change from the status quo to something new, a shift from the old way to a new way. The other side paints themselves as Conservatives, as the protectors of our sacred traditions, the preservers of our traditional values. To do that, they push us toward an idea that never existed, could never exist, and has its closest historical precedent in the robber barons and anti-capitalist monopolists. They’ve made all the changes. Their official opposition has sqabbled among itself, letting a reach for perfection thwart steps toward improvement, or languishing on the sidelines.
That has to stop.
It’s time we became the conservatives. It’s time we returned to a Wisconsin tradition of introspection, experimentation, of progressive improvement. There aren’t many days left before the recall elections. There’s a lot of work to do.
Be a conservative. Be a counter-revolutionary. Upset a bad guy.
Anaea Lay 
Here is my take on the ‘revolution’ that crept up on us…
Feeling powerless? I was, too. I was thinking about how to get my message through to people who do not seem to be listening. I was thinking, “If I could just get them to hear my message, it would change their minds.” I thought about asking my audience to strip away their labels and examine their values. Without labels, our values are going to have a lot in common. Most people value compassion, family, freedom, human rights, education, security, equality, fairness, health — and we all loathe the counterparts: cruelty, loss of community, loss of freedom, lack of respect for human rights, lack of education, chaos, inequality, injustice, and an unhealthy environment.
So if we all share similar values, why doesn’t our government reflect these values more clearly? I thought about some of the most egregious examples of legislation that has gone against common values and doubted that there were actually people who championed these affronts to society. How could this happen? How could we have elected these monsters? And I figured it out. We elected these monsters unknowingly, with our dollars.
The way the public communicates its wants and needs has changed. Historically, we have constructed governments to orchestrate everything that composes our society, including commerce. But as the human population has grown, so has the complexity of the businesses that serve our wants and needs. The structures of government have not kept up, rising and falling throughout history. Governments have taken a back seat to commerce. They have lost their connection to the people. With so many opposing factions and tangled voices, governments only reflect the dictates of commerce. But commerce has evolved, listening carefully to every nuance of the people as we tell them what we want and need. Commerce has taken on the role of government, following the will of the people unerringly, shifting direction with every monetary breath society takes. However, commerce does not listen to our voices, or care about our professed values. Commerce only listens to our dollars.
We have been barking up the wrong tree, and barking in the wrong language. Commerce is the cat, and money is the only language spoken.
The world we have today is the world we buy daily with our purchase dollars. By buying items wrapped in lots of plastic, we indicate our disinterest in the environment. By buying drugs, alcohol and tobacco products, we indicate our disdain for public safety. By buying items made in countries without adequate laws to protect workers, we give corporations the go ahead to keep disrespecting human rights. By buying TV and watching mindless drivel, we condemn ourselves to more of the same. Every purchase defines us. Every dollar describes our deepest desires. Consumers create and shape every market. Our dollars drive development. We are deciding which businesses fold or flourish.
I feel like I have been riding along in a speeding vehicle not knowing I was the driver. From now on, I will be paying closer attention! I will learn about the impact of the stuff I buy. I will support the businesses that back the legislative decisions I favor. I will resist purchasing items ‘Made in Anywhere-But-Here’ to keep my dollars in my local economy. I will teach my children how to use their financial voices to shape the future of their dreams. It will not be easy, learning how to tell the companies what we want, but now that we know what language they speak, let’s start communicating. I hope you will join me in steering our society in a better direction.